By Brandon Simmons
Colts vs. Bills
The Buffalo Bills will be hosting the Indianapolis Colts to kick off the Wild Card round. Buffalo has been playing strong to close out the year, securing the number 2 seed in the AFC, and becoming the playoff darling of many people. The Colts almost missed the postseason and needed a win in Week 17, in addition to other factors to make it happen. The challenge the Bills will have is their defense trying to stop rookie running back Johnathan Taylor, who is averaging 5 yards per attempt. The challenge that Indy is going to have is putting their defensive backs against Bills wide receivers, who are lead by All Pro wide out Stefon Diggs. Diggs has been key for this team’s success, as well as the improvement of quarterback Josh Allen. Right now, Allen is the better quarterback between him and Colts QB Philip Rivers, who was a loss away from announcing his retirement last week. This is not going to be a slam dunk for Buffalo at all, but they will get the win in a late battle.
Rams vs. Seahawks
The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks are division rivals squaring off in a rubber match, so this game could go either way. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has been having a career year, especially at the top of the season. The Rams have been playing similar to the first couple of seasons of head coach Sean McVay’s tenure; that includes defensively. LAR is currently the number one ranked pass defense, which can be credited to defensive lineman Aaron Donald’s 13.5 sacks. This was a stout unit that went into Seattle’s stadium and sacked Wilson 5 times; but could not keep put that same effort into the offensive end of things and score a touchdown. There has been plenty of times where Russ has had a subpar game, and Seattle still pulls out a win. The Rams defense is going to do their best to slow Wilson down, but can the L.A. offense overcome Seattle’s defense after not seeing the end zone a few weeks ago? This game will come down to the wire and if Wilson has the football in his hands late, then best believe that he will carry this team to a win.
Buccaneers vs. WFT
There’s no reason anybody should be giving Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady bulletin board material, but Washington Football Team defensive end Chase Young felt the need to do so. In the postgame, after Washington clinched the NFC East, Young proclaimed “I want Brady,” referring to getting after the veteran Buccaneers QB when Washington hosts Tampa Bay The thing about this is that Washington’s front 7 might have a chance to really get in Brady’s face. The problem resides in whether Washington can capitalize on stalled drives with their offense. WFT QB Alex Smith has been battling a calf injury and was in danger of missing this week. Hard to keep up with the firepower that Brady has at his disposal, in addition to the attitude he will have knowing somebody is openly challenging him. Buccaneers will convincingly take this game.
Ravens vs. Titans
The Tennessee Titans are going to host the Baltimore Ravens for the 3rd time within a year. Last year, these two met in the playoffs, in a game that saw the Titans upset the Ravens 28-12. Tennessee got the better of Baltimore in their Week 11 matchup in which saw the Titans literally run away with the 30-24 overtime victory on a Derrick Henry run. Speaking of Henry, that’s all the Titans really need for this game. If he gets going early enough, that play action can be killer to a lot of teams. It’s what helped them in the 4th quarter of that Week 11 game: play action that set up huge pass plays and a few effective scrambles from quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Scrambling is not a problem at all for Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, but he has had some problems in his short playoff history which includes 3 touchdowns, 3 picks and 11 sacks. In other words, he’s dazzling in the regular season but opposing defenses catch on in the postseason and slow that down. Expect Tennessee to stop Jackson early, then jump to a big lead where they can use Henry to run away with it.
Bears vs. Saints
This will be the 2nd straight rematch of the ay between interconference opponents, but a few things will be different. When the New Orleans Saints played the Chicago Bears this season, it was at Soldier Field, Nick Foles was the QB for Chicago and New Orleans QB Drew Brees didn’t have 11 fractured ribs. This Sunday, the Bears will have Mitch Trubisky back at QB going into the Superdome while Brees tries to get back in form from his injury, in addition to having wide receiver Michael Thomas return from an ankle injury. The best thing going for the Bears is their defense, and the fact that Saints running back Alvin Kamara will not be able to practice since he was placed on the COVID/Reserved list. But even with a less-than-prepared Kamara, Saints head coach Sean Payton will maximize every opportunity of this offense to make plays, no matter who he has to call on to do it. That can include Saints running back Latavious Murray, wide receiver Tra’quan Smith or the gadget himself, Taysom Hill. If the Saints offense can’t get it together, their defense can hold them over by forcing Bears QB Mitch Trubiskey into some erratic throws. Saints just have too much for the Bears to overcome and will easily win this game.
Browns vs. Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers close the Wild Card weekend out by hosting the Cleveland Browns in a game that has potential to be close. Despite what Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster says, this Browns team is a little bit different than previous years. They have found a consistent way to win games by running the football behind running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. That ground game has helped Browns QB Baker Mayfield cut his interceptions down from 21 to 8. While they may be different, they are still no match for the Steelers, despite their recent woes. Since going 11-0, Pittsburgh has gone 1-4 and not defended the run well, at all. With that being said, people can lean into the notion that Cleveland pull off an upset, but that would make them severely disappointed Sunday night. The Browns only beat the Steelers in Week 17 because a few starters were missing, including Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. There’s no way the Browns can go into the Steelers stadium against Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh wide outs rookie Chase Claypool, Juju and Diontae Johnson, along with 2 All Pros on defense in linebacker T.J. Watt and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick; not to mention the experience of head coach Mike Tomlin. The Browns will give it their best shot in the beginning, but Pittsburgh will suffocate them with the Steel Curtain for the win.
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